The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Derby day at Doo’cot
● Aberdeen sides will play penultimate game in Perth
The final Aberdeen derby of the Eastern Premier Division will be played in Perth after Aberdeenshire and Stoneywood-Dyce failed to agree on a new date for the fixture.
Mannofield was scheduled to host the game on August 17, the penultimate weekend of the season, but the venue has been selected to host an ICC World Cup League 2 match between Scotland and Papua New Guinea on the same date.
Shire captain Kenny Reid is disappointed the two city
clubs could not come to an agreement on a new date, which has resulted in the match being rescheduled for Doo’cot in Perth.
He said: “We offered Stoneywood-Dyce four different Sunday dates to play the game but they have refused so we’ll have to play the game in Perth.
“They have told us they don’t want to play on a Sunday as they believe it goes against the integrity of the league when all the other matches will be played on a Saturday.
“Scotland are playing in Aberdeen on that date and there will be two exStoneywood-Dyce players representing the country.
“I would have thought they would want to go and support their former team-mates rather than play miles away in Perth.
“Their stance has baffled us but we’re happy to play the game on the 17 th.”
The challenge for Shire in the meantime is to ensure the penultimate game of the campaign against their city rivals remains a match of importance as they bid to stay in the division. Shire remain rooted to the bottom of the league with five games remaining and Reid is hoping his team can finish with a flourish starting with tomorrow’s home match against Watsonians. He said: “We’ve got five games left and we believe they are games we can win. We need to win two if we can but three would be even better.
“We feel we were hard done by when we lost at Watsonians by Duckworth Lewis earlier in the season and we believe we can beat them. It’s all about trying to find the performance I know we are capable of but haven’t shown so far.”
Stoneywood-Dyce, meanwhile, make the trip to the capital to face title challengers Mazars Grange.
Grange beat Stewart’s Melville by 100 runs in the only match in the division to beat the weather last weekend, with Stoneywood-Dyce’s trip to Royal High Corstorphine called off.